Opinion
Has Monguno Served Qualitatively?
Published
2 years agoon

By
Emmanuel Onwubiko
Mohammed Babagana Monguno has had the fortune to have held some of the most prestigious but highly demanding roles whilst in the Nigerian Military and even after his stint in the Nigerian Army.
Wikipedia says he is a retired Nigerian military general and current National Security Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari, a position he has held for six years. He was the Chief of Defence Intelligence from July 2009 to September 2011, and Commander of the Brigade of Guards from 2007 to 2009.
From the above career trajectory, it is not out of place to state emphatically that Monguno is one of the few whose ‘Chi’ (God) benevolently helped to crack their palm kernel (as professor Chinua Achebe would put it).
But his actions, inactions and happenings around his office as the National Security Adviser to President Buhari are perhaps what should bother every rational and patriotic analyst of the precarious security situation in the country of our birth.
Monguno as the National Security Adviser at a particular time that students and children are plucked off their schools by armed terrorists and kidnappers almost on a weekly basis without strategic military-ed effort at safe returns of these terrorized children of Nigeria, is to say the least, a man who has overstayed his welcome in office.
Two other things that have happened with him, around him and about him, go to expose the universal fact that he is not a qualitative National Security Adviser because if detailed statistics of insecurity are compiled, Nigeria ranks amongst the most troubled and terrorized society in the world. This was perhaps why a former United States Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell drew a fatalistic conclusion that Nigeria right now under this political dispensation has become a failed state.
The two things I alluded to are the corruption that stinks inside and within the office of the National Security Adviser assuming the investigative reports as published by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission are anything to go by, and the second incident is the confession openly made by the National Security Adviser that the Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi has the right to meet armed bandits. This claim is preposterous and shows the unambiguous evidence that the National Security Adviser has failed.
This is because, the activities and speeches at public fora by Sheikh Ahmad Gumi directly contradict the terrorism prevention Act, 2013 which is a valid law of Nigeria.
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The following is a run- down of how one of the leading media houses in Nigeria reported the scam inside the office of the National Security Adviser.
The media reports: “Soldiers on Wednesday threatened to shoot officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that came to mark properties seized from Brig. Gen Jafaru Mohammed, the Director of Finance and Administration at the Office of the National Security Adviser.
The EFCC had obtained an interim forfeiture from a Federal High Court in Abuja on March 11, 2021, and proceeded to mark eight properties belonging to the NSA’s aide.
“Our correspondent, who visited Sun City in the Lokogoma area of Abuja on Wednesday, reported that after a team of EFCC officials began marking General Mohammed’s building located on 52 Main Street, Sun City, in red paint, armed soldiers arrived in a white Hilux marked GWA481EA and chased the EFCC officials away. The soldiers took a bucket of water and soap and quickly cleaned off the markings which read, ‘EFCC, Under Investigation, Keep Off!
“Our correspondent, who visited other properties linked to the general, observed that soldiers were on guard to prevent EFCC officials from marking them.
Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo had in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/007/2021 ordered the interim forfeiture of eight properties linked to General Mohammed who is a trusted aide to the NSA, Major General Babagana Moguno (retd.).
“The investigation of Mohammed is part of a wider probe into the finances of the Office of the NSA.
“Other properties affected include: A house at 7 God’s Own Estate, Road 1, Wamba District, a fenced plot at 1 Jubril Aminu Crescent, Katampe Extension, a plot at Kubwa Express Road directly opposite Abuja Model City Gate, a house at Block SD 22, Road 5, Kabusa Garden Estate, Abuja; Plot 15, 21st Crescent, Second Avenue, Gwarinpa, 3 Liverpool Close, Sun City Estate and 25 Osaka Street, Sun City.
“The properties are believed to be worth billions of naira which far exceed the income of a brigadier general.”
On the other leg of the well founded reason why the National Security Adviser has failed to offer qualitative service to the country is his statement that Sheikh Ahmad Gumi can as well meet with armed bandits.
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Here is what the Terrorism Prevention Act of 2013 said about the strident defence that Gumi continues to advance in favour of kidnappers and terrorists in the North: “Section 5(1) Any person who knowingly, in any manner, directly or indirectly, solicits or renders support
(a) for the commission of an act of terrorism or (b) to a terrorist group,
commits an offence under this Act and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than twenty years.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, “support” includes-
(a) incitement to commit a terrorist act through the internet, or any electronic means or through the use of printed materials or through the dissemination of terrorist information;
(b) receipt or provision of material assistance, weapons including biological, chemical or explosives, training, weapons, false documentation or identification to terrorists or terrorist groups;
(c) receipt or provision of information or moral assistance, including invitation to adhere to a terrorist or terrorist group;
(d) entering or remaining in a country for the benefit of, or at the direction of or in association with a terrorist group; or
(e) the provision of, or making available, such financial or other related services prohibited under this Act or as may be prescribed by regulations made pursuant to this Act.
(3) In this section, it is not necessary to prove that the financial material or information or facilities or financial assistance was actually collected or provided if it can be reasonably established that the person collected or
provided the material, information or facilities or financial assistance to terrorists, or terrorist groups.”
Monguno does not care about the extant law which prohibits the kind of open campaign in favour of terrorists that Ahmad Gumi has been waging but Monguno, the National Security Adviser said Ahmad Gumi has offered to help the government in tackling insecurity.
This is the same Ahmad Gumi who has the backing of the National Security Adviser to go about negotiating soft-landing for terrorists and armed bandits and has added fuel to the fire when he threatened that the kidnapping of student will continue until government accepts the blackmail of these terrorists.
Gumi who has been meeting with suspected bandits terrorising communities in the north-west and in the north-central has likened them to militants in the Niger Delta, and asked that they are not tagged criminals. He has also called on the federal government to grant blanket amnesty for the bandits.
At a state house briefing, General Monguno, while fielding questions from journalists, said he had met with Gumi, and that he was waiting to see how the cleric could help the government.
Hear him: “Sheik Gumi is doing what he’s doing because he believes in what he’s doing. He’s a Nigerian and under the constitution he can talk to anybody. He can deal with anybody,” he said.
“I met with him when I went with the service chiefs to Kaduna, and we spoke generally during the meeting and he resolved to help government. We are waiting for him. That’s all I can say.”
The NSA said the government was not averse to holding talks with bandits, but that it could not negotiate with people who were unreliable.
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“While government is not averse to talking with these entities, it also has to fully apply its weight. You can’t negotiate with people who are unreliable and who will continue to hurt society,” he said.
“We will apply the full weight of the government to deal with these criminals.
“These are not people looking for anything that is genuine or legitimate, they’re just out to take calculated measures to inflict pain and violence on innocent people. We must deal with them the way they need to be dealt with. We will fully assert the government’s will.”
Clearly, the Kaduna- based cleric is openly supporting terrorists. Sheik Abubakar Gumi urged the federal government to negotiate with the bandits in order to stop kidnappings in the country. Gumi, who was reacting to the abduction of some school children in Niger State, said the needless kidnappings would continue until there was genuine negotiation with bandits.
According to him, the bandits are only looking for money, hence they resorted to the abduction of innocent students.
In an exclusive interview with The Punch, the cleric stated that there were about 100,000 armed bandits in the northwest alone.
Gumi said the bandits kidnapping school pupils were disappointed that he negotiated with them without the involvement of the federal government.
Speaking on the efforts to rescue the kidnapped pupils of Tegina Islamic School, Niger State, Gumi insisted that until the government engaged with the herdsmen, no school could be safe, especially in the north.
He said: “But we are trying to talk sense to them that these are just innocent schoolchildren. We don’t even have any idea of the condition of the children. We are just saying these are young children trying to study and they did nothing, so why are you trying to take dirty money from their families?”
Gumi, however, said that with good engagement, education and enticements like jobs and other things, the bandits would leave the illegal job, adding that he needed a partner and that the government should understand that individuals like him alone could not do it.
He said: “All those we met (have stopped kidnapping), except for one of them who is kidnapping again, and he told us his reason, that he was neglected and he thought we had the mandate to negotiate.”
Gumi says bandits are tired, want genuine negotiation with FG
READ ALSO: Dakkada: What Difference Has It Made In Six years? (II)
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that Sheik Gumi declared that bandits terrorising some states across the country were tired and wanted peace. It was reported that the Kaduna-based Islamic scholar said bandits were ready to lay down their arms if they got a genuine partnership from the government.
Gumi noted that bandits said they were pushed into banditry by circumstances, adding that he had met with about 80% of the bandits.
How then can any rational writer ascribe the attribute of a good National Security Adviser to the occupant of that position in Nigeria when the person does not see anything wrong in providing moral support for bandits and terrorists?
We will conclude by looking at some deep writing about the attributes of a good National Security Adviser so our readers can read them vis-a-vis the heightened insecurity in Nigeria and draw their conclusion.
From the reference material we consulted, we were told that you know if you can be a successful advisor by seeing the following ten characteristics highlighted below:
1. Have a genuine interest in helping others succeed. Professionals who are most successful in an advisor role are those truly passionate about working side-by-side with a CEO or business leader who needs a little extra help. Fortunately, advisors are being actively sought out by companies in nearly every industry imaginable, so it is easy to find companies with a mission that aligns with your personal interests.
Plus, being an on-demand advisory work allows you to decide when and how often you engage in opportunities to ensure all participation is meaningful – to both the advisor and company. On-demand advisors are hired by the hour, on the days and times that best suit their schedule;
2. Have in-depth expertise on a topic(s) in their field. The knowledge and first-hand experiences that executives possess are extremely valuable to companies who need to fill gaps within their organization. If you have a specific expertise or skill-set that relates to a company’s needs, you become a critical asset in helping them overcome challenges or take on new opportunities;
3. Willingness to share advice and knowledge.
It’s one thing to be knowledgeable on a topic, but it’s another to want to share that expertise with others. Willingness to share advice is one of the most important aspects of being an advisor. As long as you’re open to teaching others what you know, you can play a very influential role in the success of another company;
4. Demonstrates effective communication skills.
Being able to communicate your thoughts and ideas in a way that others can understand is extremely important as an advisor. If the person on the receiving end of your advice doesn’t use the same terminology as you, you’ll need to break it down in a way that resonates with them.
There are also times when advisors have to be the voice of reason or disagree with a CEO for the betterment of the company, and in doing so they need to be straightforward and realistic with their reasonings. A good advisor provides constructive feedback in a way that encourages change or progress.
Digital advisory boards, like those sourced through Advisory Cloud, allow you to communicate directly with companies and CEOs on an ongoing basis to help guide them toward better decision-making and solve their most pressing business needs;
5. Effectively sets and achieves goals.
A major component of being an advisor is helping a CEO or leadership team reach a specific goal or goals. CEOs have a lot on their plates, which can sometimes derail them from focusing on an objective they set at an earlier point. A good advisor steers the CEO back on track to make sure they achieve their goals. In doing so, you need to be fair and objective, as well as able to address challenges head-on.
For professionals looking to diversify their leadership experience, this is a great opportunity to take on new roles and add to your list of accomplishments;
6. Has a positive attitude and can be a positive role model.
Advisors have the unique opportunity to help shape the success of another company, and as a result they also have a unique relationship with the CEO. Many CEOs view their advisors as a personal mentor and role model, helping them to become better overall leaders. A successful advisor leads by example and provides support and a positive outlook during both good times and bad;
7. Leverages a network of peers.
In addition to their in-depth expertise, advisors have something else very valuable to offer – business connections. It may seem simple, but making a few introductions could open new doors and opportunities for a CEO. But don’t worry, you don’t need to give away your entire network, but instead evaluate your connections and decide where your business ties can be helpful to both parties involved – and as an added bonus will strengthen your existing relationships;
8. Ability to listen.
As the person who is more experienced or more knowledgeable on a topic, it can be easier to voice your opinions and ideas. However, listening can be just as helpful. CEOs often need someone to talk through problems or bounce around ideas with, and being an attentive listener will give you insight into their thought processes or direction they’re trying to move toward – which ultimately helps you guide them toward achieving their goals;
9. Passionate about their work.
If you are passionate about the work you do, it will show. The most successful advisors are those who get excited about solving new challenges and eagerly approach new opportunities. If you are genuinely unimpressed by a company’s mission or values, you will be less motivated to perform well as an advisor;
10. Values the opinions of others.
Lastly, a good advisor respects and values the opinions of the people they work with. When you support the ideas of others you are better able to collaborate with them, build off those ideas, and create result-driven objectives. (advisorycloud.com)
Lauren Monsen in 2019 wrote thus:
“The national security adviser participates in meetings of the U.S. National Security Council (NSC) and usually chairs meetings of the council’s Principals Committee with the secretary of state and secretary of defence when the president is not in attendance. The national security adviser offers the president a range of options on national security issues.”
“Among other duties, the national security adviser helps plan the president’s foreign travel and provides background memos and staffing for the president’s meetings and phone calls with world leaders.”
“The national security adviser also prepares the president for NSC meetings, helps draft national security and foreign policy speeches, helps to prepare for meetings with congressional leaders, responds to presidential requests for information, and briefs the president on issues of the moment.”
“Stephen Hadley, who was President George W. Bush’s national security adviser from 2005 to 2009, described the scope of the job in a 2016 speech. He said the adviser needs to advance presidential initiatives within the executive branch of the federal government.”
Although the national security adviser works closely with cabinet members, Hadley said he or she “must be careful not to usurp the role of the cabinet officers — especially the secretaries of defence and state,” who run their departments and have authority over agency budgets.
From the above, there is no doubt that President Muhammadu Buhari needs to dismiss his National Security Adviser without any further delay.
Onwubiko is the head of the Human Rights Writers (HURIWA) and was a federal commissioner at the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria.
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By Toyin Falola
“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.” – Galileo Galilei
Religion remains a much-debated issue, especially in Africa. It is one of the determining factors of our identity. It determines who we are, our beliefs, actions and reactions, and even our thought processes. Africans had their own culture and traditional religion until the advent of western civilization, which brought with it the ‘gift’ of Abrahamic religions—,Christianity and Islam—and judged African traditional religious practices as evil, pagan practice and witchcraft. The missionaries did a thorough job of making people believe that their religion was superior and righteous. Africans accepted these imported religions, and their traditional beliefs began to fade. Christianity and Islam are now the new order, and people are extremely devoted to these newly found Gods.
The Toyin Falola Interviews recently played host to music composer and songwriter, Beautiful Nubia. The question of Beautiful Nubia’s stance on religion pops up during the interview. He is known to promote African spirituality but has also defended foreign religions as advantageous. In response, he talks about his ancestral line: his paternal family were Olu Orogbo devotees (the Yoruba god of letters), and his maternal family were Ifa priests and Esu devotees. He said, “religion has always fascinated me like it gets people’s minds.” He opines that spirituality ties into what gets people so much into religion. Although he no longer practices religion, he affirms that these religions have positively influenced people to do good and show kindness to their fellow human beings.
He states, “Any organized religion has a set of dogma or doctrines they use to guide you to put you in there. You are there; it is like a strait jacket to keep you on the straight and narrow. Why I said religion is a good thing is because the purpose of this is to ensure that you stay on the straight and narrow, that you do good things.” We can agree that religion has contributed to the rise of morals to a certain extent, as the fear of God keeps many people from doing evil. It has curbed wickedness and negative traits inherent in humans and made many people see the world in a new light. Religion has spread the message of doing good and becoming a better human being.
Beautiful Nubia
The issue, however, is not the practice of these religions but the ability of leaders to sway people easily. Although imported religions have helped to stop the extremities of African religious practices, it has only accentuated people’s gullibility. Beautiful Nubia further states, “What is wrong with religion is that it gives certain people the power to use their followers. It is not the religion itself; it is the human beings who run these religious organizations who use their power to extract money from them and push them in the wrong direction.” Owning a church is one of the easiest and quickest ways to get rich, particularly in Nigeria. All that is needed to succeed in this business is to be a good actor, have nice clothes (suits, particularly), can win people over with words and give yourself an extraordinary title such as Rabbi.
It is common knowledge that the major reason why people attend church and Jumat services religiously are that they seek solutions to their problems. As much bad governance is enough to seek God’s intervention for various human issues ranging from terminal illnesses, protection, promotion, unhappiness, barrenness, unemployment, and marital problems, to poverty, which is an average African’s motivation to seek God’s face, also cause people to become staunch believers. To get swift, miraculous answers to these problems, many people fall prey to the traps of “men of God”, who only look to fill their pockets and bellies. This explains why a “pastor” would shut down his church after winning a 100 million Naira bet.
Pastors and Muslim clerics are considered mini gods who can do no wrong. The Bible verse, “touch not my anointed and do my prophet no harm,” is an ever-ready response by Christians in defense of their highly revered pastors who would not think twice before taking advantage of their desperation to get their problems solved. They forget that a “man of God” is first a man. Religion has rendered humans gullible to the extent that they excuse things their religious leaders do that are not even in tune with what is written in the Holy books. How do you explain a pastor who sleeps with a woman looking for the fruit of the womb and says his sperm is the anointing that will cause her to have her child? What do we say to a pastor who instructs his congregation to bring a greater percentage of their salaries to him so that God can answer their prayers? Should the man who claims to be an alfa but has exploited so many people in the name of being a ‘wonder healer’ be left alone? Churches and mosques nowadays see the desperation of people and feed off it. Many people come to church for prosperity and get ripped off the little they have, all in the name of miracles, signs and wonders. You could be in a church service and then suddenly hear the pastor say, “I see seven stars. I need seven people who will give the Lord Seven Hundred Thousand to come out now at the count of seven. One, Two…Seven!” You will be amazed at the number of people who will run to the altar to give the ‘Lord’ that amount of money in this present economy. Unsurprisingly, some borrow money to give to their pastors to receive blessings, then struggle to pay back the borrowed money. Monkey dey work, Baboon dey chop.
These men of God add false doctrines to their fraudulent, shady activities. Beautiful Nubia quotes his mother, a Christian singer, as saying, ” any church where they are a lot of people there, you know there are telling them lies there.” He made an example of a Muslim cleric who tells his followers that every other person is evil, an infidel and a pastor who tells his congregation that their Jesus is not a Jesus of poverty, that He died for them to be wealthy. It is now rare to find churches that preach about the kingdom of God and how to live a life that pleases God. Churches today entice and then mislead people.
Sometimes, people realize all these things are wrong but lack the courage to question these atrocities. According to Beautiful Nubia, “…as a child, you are fully indoctrinated, and as an adult, you are scared to question these beliefs.” Asking a pastor why he preaches only prosperity and how to get rich as a Christian would be considered as seeking the wrath of God because the pastor can call down fire to consume his ‘enemy’. Questioning an Imam on why he sleeps with young girls will only attract curses from the Quran on such a person, followed by “who are you to question God’s prophet? The ways and dealings of God are mysterious”. Really, who dares question these men of God? The fear that has been unconsciously programmed into your mind from a very young age holds your voice and makes you look away from the evils of these religious leaders.
This is not to say that there are no genuine men of God, but there is a plague of greedy religious leaders who, because of their power over their members, influence them to bend to their will while satisfying their greed and lust. “We should not focus too much on religion being our enemy. We need to focus more on ourselves, fix ourselves, and we can use traditional wisdom to do that”, says Nubia. The way we question and demand accountability from the government should be the same way we question our religious leaders. Not every “God says” is true. The Bible in 1 John 4:1 says, “Beloved , believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” Many religious leaders are gods of their bellies and are only out to exploit people to put food in their fat stomachs and live expensive lifestyles with their poor congregation’s money. Child of God, shine ya eye!
This is Part 1 of the report on the interview with Beautiful on March 19, 2023. The extensive interview, which has received millions of views across different platforms, talks about the role of music in society. For the transcripts, see:
YouTube
https://youtube.com/watch?v=7fyHlf1QIsI
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By Toyin Falola
I
Death
Twilight-zone, Afterlife, What-Mays, and Whatnots;
Questions that transcend mortal thoughts.
Uncertainties plucked by the hands of certainty
pondering life beyond the galaxy.
Philosophies, religions, and sciences;
Ancient lenses to dissect and ponder.
Beliefs, opinions, and standpoints in their multiplicities;
Scalpels that open the heart of certain death
Blazing free the skins of uncertainty.
Science, a nobility I revere,
But it stammers answering to the afterlife.
For science is knowledge and knowledge from experience
But the dead neither speak, nor take records.
Their journeys, ordeals, triumphs or woes?
No one bears witness.
But as dead, we must all be witnesses;
witnesses that testify not.
So, for now, we survive the knowledge of death.
II
On my Agbàlàgbà head lies my Ọ́kpụ́ Ágwụ́
With eagle feathers, rare and honorable
Adorning it for three scores, a decade, and some more days.
I had flipped my Kente given by the Gaa
And danced to crescendos from Gàngàn drums
I have been celebrated and celebrating
For the miracles, I have worked with pen, paper, keyboard, and brain
I have taken the tales we tell in my village square beyond the Atlantic
Changed the songs that disdain us into appraisals
I have called my brothers not to point to our fathers’ house with their left hands
I have honed Africa and beyond
To answer the calls of the people’s need
I have reached the thinkable and done the unthinkable
So, I danced and keep dancing.
Suddenly, I felt a touch on my host?
Electrifying my hand, leg, brain, and my whole
Telling me that my jur from the Dinka people awaits me.
That my hourglass tells of crossing the bar.
I thought I knew what it was like,
But my grasping convictions of approaching jur were perceptions
Just surviving the death of the knowledge of death
So, arms wide open ready to abound
What was there to fear?
No catacomb of secrets
No palm oil-drenched white garments
I have taken many to my gourmet
To feast and to see.
What was there not to fear?
With medicine men and women,
Syringes, lights, water, ECG, Oximeters, voices, and touches
Hovering around me like a sacred etutu
Making conversations with me and beyond
I was thrown into a pool of reminiscence
one leg and a part of me were already in the boat
It beckoned but I heard another.
A loud voice like my mother’s.
Who takes a journey without locking his home?
Who takes the jur with unpatched palm fronds on his hut?
While the thunder rages up the sky?
The walls are broken and Balogun journeys?
So, I left the sea to clear the cobwebs and light up the night lamb.
The past few weeks have opened new lights of understanding to me. I now see the world from different hills and have helped to reach new resolutions. I know I have written about “transitioning to nothingness,” but my emphasis was on the “nothingness” with lesser attention on “transitioning.” I think we need to continue to ask questions. Philosophies, religion, sociology, psychology, science, and other ramifications are mere perceptions and we are uncertain. The transitioning occurs when death becomes an angel to hug not a beast to fear. We do not know what it entails but one must always endeavor to go with clean hands.
My recovery from an illness may have offered me a fresh opportunity to shout some more, point to societal needs, and settle unfinished businesses. No, not those caused by my personal undoing, but rather those of the people who would be left unguided, and for matters untold about life, society, and individuals. I can say I have passed through the lessons of tantra transfiguration, to use an elegant phrase that I recently came across, to move from secular to sacred activism. No one survives death because of its finality, but when it seems that you did, it is a renewed quest, offering a new purpose.
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By Tony Afejuku
The debate has progressed well so far. Our professors, whose strokes have centred on their fellow professor’s manned INEC have tried as best as they could not to confine their impressions solely to the prism of subjectivity. Even when their impressions seem to be subjective, they still make allowance for contrary views, for opposing views. This obviously gives clarity, objectivity and logic to the subject at hand. Is the will of INEC of a professor minder and mincer of words’ control the will of the people or of the masses? On whose side are the Professors who are as concerned as almost everybody is with what is going – or with what has gone on – primarily about our Presidential 2023 elections? Our Professors who are debating the subject constitute the courageous and prophetic Nigerian voices of our day. Their authentic and responsible thoughts are not restricted to the local or regional. They are also not confined to electoral duties and responsibilities expected of the umpire and the will that belongs elsewhere. The truth about the quality of leadership about our country and elsewhere is also told in the debate of the literati.
Professor (Mrs.) Razinatu Mohamed in her submission, in her salvo-cum-explosion actually, drew attention to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s explosive explosion in the presidency. If Professor Osinbajo had provided the right vice-presidential leadership there would not have been the need for him to explode as he did as per a viral video Professor Razinatu Mohamed referred her fellow debaters to. “What has he been doing in the eight years of their administration? Irritated my foot; he is complicit.” Not done, Professor Razinatu drew attention to the kind of leaders that Nigeria and Africa need: “Leaders that understand the rudiments of modern socio-economic development and systems; Leaders that understand the crux of requirements for economic growth. Leaders that could demonstrate to the rest of the world that just as the world needs Africa, African countries need the world in a symbiotic relationship and partnership context where assistance becomes a dual role…..”
Razinata’s concern is clear. Nothing in Nigeria will climb out of its hollow hole. In fact, the will of the people will remain hollow so long as a hollow mincer and minder is in charge of its electoral affairs.
Professor Da Sylva perhaps responds better to Professor Razinatu Mohamed’s algebraic stroke. “Unfortunately, Nigeria’s democracy is trapped in its primordial self-made ethnic and religious sentiments and so, standards, merit, competence and pedigrees are measured by their curious divides of religion and ethnic inclinations. Until we all come to realize that heavens help those who help themselves, Nigeria ain’t going no-where – meeen!”
But below is Professor Da Sylva’s sledge hammer response to Professor Razinatu Mohamed’s Osinbajo hammer blow:
“Prof Osinbajo’s office demands he does what he did. Besides, it shows maturity and spirit of sportsmanship on his part. Every loser in a game “healthily” contested, is naturally expected to do the same. The only difference which again shows Osinbajo’s magnanimity is that in this context, the contest under reference was neither healthy nor just. The umpire seemed compromised and merely worked to a prepared answer. Yet the gentleman did the needful. I guess, brothers and sisters, that we should put all that behind us, and work for our common good, and the wellbeing of the country, provided the mythical Aso cabal will let the President-elect be, and let the masses be, and as such, they should not create any cause for us to think otherwise, lest they provoke our sense of patriotism to take appropriate action! I guess that those were the reading or feelings of the dirty-minded Aso Villa cabal. People that kill with sword never wish that any folk should pass a sword over their heads, a wise saying goes in Yoruba. The human principalities simply suspected that should they allow PMB to give the VP the intended latitude, they might not be able to control him. I remember on his return from London, he commended the efforts of his VP while he was away. He said he would still continue acting while he would still have some more rest at home. The following day everything changed, PMB decided to take charge as the President. I suspected some back door politics was playing out. My co-debaters, quite naturally, you’ll agree with me that, it is not over-ambition or sheer opportunism as you might insinuate for any deputy in an office to aspire to the next higher office, in a legitimate manner, there is nothing really unusual about it, and it would amount to killing a mosquito with a sledge hammer, should Oshinbajo be crucified for that, if at all. And as for his wishing Buhari’s non-recovery, I think that, again, like my Sister R, is a little unkind and not fair to the gentleman who I know to be a servant of God. He knows as much as I do, by our true Christian orientation and Biblical injunctions that, should he ever wish Buhari’s death or wish him any form of misfortune in those trying periods of the President, God Almighty who we serve would deal mercilessly and ruthlessly with him. That is what Psalm 41:1-13 is all about. So rule that out, because it is not, and could never be in his character. I can vouch for him. Rather, I saw him in those times that he acted for his principal, as someone zealous and appreciative of the trust his principal invested in him, and as such he tried to do his very best to merit the trust and the opportunity! I know and I am also sure that this is what an IBK, or a Razinat, would have done too had they found themselves in a similar situation! It does not amount to wishing one’s principal any evil, not at all. Not everyone can be like Chief Obafemi Awolowo who resigned his position under Gowon when the regime became financially reckless shortly after the civil war. Awolowo also gave very profound argumentation to justify convincingly his actions. He also turned down some other appointments including the “49 Wise Men of the Constitution Drafting Committee.” Oshinbajo couldn’t have resigned, normally, and naturally his principal, PMB should have supported him as a capable successor, but again, the President’s ethnic and religious bigotry took the better part of the President. Besides, PMB’s mind was long poisoned against his VP, a clean job by the Aso Villa cabal. IBK, Lady R, until the faceless cabal is permanently silenced the wheel of Nigeria might continue to go round in a circle, and to nowhere in particular”.
And Professor IBK takes the floor: “Prof. DAO, yours is a powerfully convincing submission, at least in a large measure. Now I am willing to hold a slightly different opinion about Osinbajo. Yet, I cannot fathom why he chose to run against Tinubu, days or weeks after the latter had begun his campaign in the party primaries. There’s much we don’t know about why OSBJ decided to run against BAT. Nothing is wrong with that politically but a little problematic from an Ethical or, at least Moral, point of view. Osinbajo did a poor job of it and came out a distant 4th in the primaries. I think he didn’t read the situation correctly and was probably misled by some cabal of sorts. Either way Osinbajo made a politically fatal error in this regard. Perhaps he must have sensed, or was told, that BAT was not the anointed candidate, or that BAT would be crippled by some ill-health or a medical condition. I remember the party’s screening committee publicly recommending that only younger contestants would be recommended to the NWC or such. Clearly there was an attempt to sideline BAT. Whatever the explanation, Osinbajo make the error in his campaign of promising to be more Buhari than Buhari. A man despised by whole sections of the northern population, a man whose reputation for laziness and incompetence was on the ascendant. Anyway, all is now history and Osinbajo has not given a good account of himself in this particular case. Prof DAO, I think your concept of the Trickster should account for Osinbajo’s situation here. FULL DISCLOSURE: a very close family member of mine was drafted to head Osinbajo’s campaign effort in Kano. We discussed extensively about Osinbajo’s pledge to carry on with Buhari’s policies. There was bewilderment and shock within the members. A week later half of the membership resigned on account of Osinbajo’s increasing identification with Buhari’s policies. Many mistakenly thought that Osinbajo was Buhari’s anointed one! I could go on…”
Interestingly interesting and intriguingly intriguing, dear, dearly dear readers: this debate.
To be terminated by the columnist-terminator and terminator-columnist next week after Professor Olu Obafemi’s summation of the debate he presided over.
Afejuku can be reached via 08055213059.
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